The Nature of Interactions in a Field-Based Teacher Education Experience

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes and categorizes the interactions between school-based faculty, university professors, and preservice teachers in the first two years of a school-university partnership. The authors analyzed discussions that took place during evaluation procedures and determined four categories: (1) personal and professional development, (2) collaboration and communication, (3) restructuring school-university curriculum, and (4) resource needs. Each of the categories was evaluated for evidence of three conditions necessary for collaboration (Goodlad, 1988). The three conditions for collaboration include partners' awareness of the differences between institutions, a recognition that self interests can be met in the partnership, and a commitment to meet the self interests of the other partner. The interactions demonstrated few instances in which the partners discussed the differences between schools and universities; most discussions focused on the partners' self interests. Partners demonstrated the greatest commitment to each other's interests during interactions regarding curricular restructuring. The results suggest a need to understand the nature of interactions in school-university partnerships and provide one method of comparing patterns of interaction across partnerships.